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View Full Version : Tutorial: Scenarist Designer for Interactive Graphics with Basic Template(s)


jokin
12th March 2008, 00:54
Scenarist Designer is simply an export plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. It allows you to create your IG (Interactive Graphic) or Menu Structure and Artistically design your menus.

It is all done through some semi-specific names on your assets. I usually make 2 templates (1 always-on menu and one pop-up menu).


The basic structure for the IGs are:

IG: Interactive Graphics [top layer]
DS: Display Set
P: Page
BOG: Button Overlap Group
B: Button
BG: Common Background

All of those are Photoshop groups or folders in your asset window.

There are also a few more objects that are not folders or groups but actual graphics such as:

Nx: Normal State Button Graphic
Sx: Selected State Button Graphic
Ax: Active State Button Graphic
* The x signifies the frame number for multi frame button states. This should always be 1 to start (i.e. N1: S1: and A1:)

BG: Common Background for Pop-up menus. This can be placed under the IG: for a background common to all pages or a different one in each P: for your different pages. Be Creative.


So a sample IG set could look look like:

IG: Example Menu
DS: Example Menu
P: Main Menu
BOG: Main Movie
B: Play Movie
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Chapter Page
B: Chapters
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Extras Page
B: Extras
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
P: Chapter Menu
BOG: Chapter 1
B: Ch 1
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Chapter 2
B: Ch 2
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Chapter 3
B: Ch 3
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Return to Main
B: Return
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
P: Extras Menu
BOG: Deleted Scenes
B: Play All
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Bloopers
B: Play Bloopers
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Return to Main
B: Return
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BG: Popup menu Background


Finally you go to File > Export > Scenarist Desinger. It will bring up the Designer window where you can preview everything via the layers tree.

When satisfied click Export Images. It will ask you for a save location. When saved it will create a scenarist.designer file and a hierarchical menu structure with your assets in it.

Next just export it into Scenarist by right-clicking the Data tree and Import > Designer File.

Then follow steps for adding an IG to your project from http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=135728

Template was made in Photoshop CS3

Enjoy

Adub
12th March 2008, 02:59
Dude, you rock! Keep the tutorials flowing!

DieHard
12th March 2008, 08:14
One thing to mention is that when dealing with pop-up menus you might want to keep the original menus still intact (creating a multi-layer feeling for the menus.) In this case, one way of doing it is to create the same buttons in each 'pop-up' section to retain the original menu. Using jokin's example:


IG: Example Menu
DS: Example Menu
P: Main Menu
BOG: Main Movie
B: Play Movie
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Chapter Page
B: Chapters
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Extras Page
B: Extras
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
P: Chapter Menu
BOG: Chapter 1
B: Ch 1
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Chapter 2
B: Ch2
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Chapter 3
B: Ch 3
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Main Movie
B: Play Movie
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Chapter Page
B: Chapters
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Extras Page
B: Extras
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BG: Chapter Menu Background
P: Extras Menu
BOG: Deleted Scenes
B: Play All
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Bloopers
B: Play Bloopers
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Main Movie
B: Play Movie
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Chapter Page
B: Chapters
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BOG: Extras Page
B: Extras
N1: Normal State
S1: Selected State
A1: Activated State
BG: Extras Menu Background
BG: Popup menu Background


Using this setup you can create a menu that is more like the professional commercial Blu-Ray discs that has multi-level menus and using auto-activated and hidden buttons you can have them pop-up (or hide) without having any 'return to' buttons to press. A simple press of the 'up' or 'down' arrow on a remote control can open or close a sub-menu.

jokin
12th March 2008, 09:08
Im still not sure of the point of having more than one button per BOG as only one is visible at a time. Or how to get the popup to disappear (i.e. pushing the down arrow) if I dont select anything without having it wait until the timeout. Still trying to learn the ins and outs.

DieHard
12th March 2008, 16:45
At the moment in the project I'm working on I have a popup menu that has multi-tiers. The first menu is simply five buttons across the bottom of the screen, Main Menu : Episode Selection : Setup : Bonus Features : Credits.

When you click the cursor over to Episode Selection a sub-menu pops up (while leaving the original menu look still intact). The same happens when you click over to Setup and Bonus Features. The way I did this was quite simple really. Episode Selection is an auto-activated button. When you click on it, it links to another page that contains the new set of buttons that are in addition to the first five, plus the original first five buttons. In my case I don't want one of the submenu items selected so I have the default button of the new page set to the new Episode Selection button (without auto-activation.) I link the 'Up' portion of the Episode Selection button to the first item to be selected within the submenu, etc. In my case I used hidden buttons that clicking left and right link to. These hidden buttons are auto-activated and link to whichever page I want, (such as the Main Menu page for left and Setup Menu page for right in this case.)

I think there is an easier way of doing it by just using a single page and hidding/showing buttons but I haven't figured that out yet. I'm not sure if that is what the 'Enable Button' and 'Disable Button' commands are for on not. Perhaps someone else that has tested those out knows?

Pato
12th March 2008, 19:23
EnableButton does exactly what you want. If you place 2 overlapping buttons at the same BOG the EnableButton displays the one with the ID you set.

DieHard
13th March 2008, 00:45
Hmmm. I'm having a bit of trouble with the main menu still background. I tried running a still png through the Still Image Encoder as a Browsable Slideshow and loaded that up in Scenarist HDMV as a Browsable Slideshow. I then created a clip, added it to it and set the 'Still Mode' to Infinite. I then added it to a PlayItem with an Interactive Graphics Menu as a SubItem. However, it doesn't seem to treat it as a infinite still image and instead just shows it for 1 second which I obviously don't want since it automatically stops the disc when you go to it. Any ideas on what needs to be done to get a still picture as a main menu background?

On a similar note, I tried instead putting the still picture through the Still Image Encoder as a Movie, which let me put a duration. This way I can at least get it to last for that duration, however I'm unsure how to get the movie to repeat. I'm assuming I need to do something at the MO (Movie Object) level with adding a command or commands? Since there are no Cells/etc like in the old Scenarist I'm not 100% sure. I just want a simple loop for a video.

jokin
13th March 2008, 01:14
DieHard I have same problem here. Im at work so cant tell you definitely but I think if you select the Playlist in the stream tree there is a property called Playback Count. I just set that really high to keep it looping. It is in the section with the Playlist's UO Masks.

bigotti5
13th March 2008, 11:11
Since there are no Cells/etc like in the old Scenarist I'm not 100% sure. I just want a simple loop for a video.

In MO command area label your PlayPL command as e.g "loop"
Add a new GoTo command after your PlayPL command with loop as target (LabelName).

jokin
13th March 2008, 11:57
In MO command area label your PlayPL command as e.g "loop"
Add a new GoTo command after your PlayPL command with loop as target (LabelName).

Sweet, thank you.

crusty1
14th March 2008, 02:17
Everytime I try an export with designer i Get the error "Only one asset type is allowed in a single document" any ideas?

jokin
14th March 2008, 02:26
Everytime I try an export with designer i Get the error "Only one asset type is allowed in a single document" any ideas?

I got that when I had 2 "background" images in the "root" of the IG:

one was labled background and one was layer 1. I merged the 2 and it exported for me. Also make sure they are all labled correctly (N1:, etc.). Your "background" image does not have to be BG: but you can apparently only have 1 "background" image not labled as so.

crusty1
14th March 2008, 02:34
Ok it exported but no .scenarist designer file was created only a bunch of PNGs...???

jokin
14th March 2008, 03:35
Ok it exported but no .scenarist designer file was created only a bunch of PNGs...???

Go back in and go to File > Export > Scenarist Designer and when window pops up click Export Images and choose the saving location.

If your project is called IG_Menu and you choose C:\Menus as the save location your directory structure should be like this.

C:\Menus\ig_menu.senarist.designer
C:\Menus\IG_Menu
C:\Menus\IG_Menu\*

B4tm4n
14th March 2008, 13:35
When ever I try to export the images I get a can't save pallette error.

jokin
14th March 2008, 14:36
Hmm could you post the whole error as I have not had that one yet.

B4tm4n
14th March 2008, 15:05
Thats all it says.

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9485/picture1cm2.th.png (http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9485/picture1cm2.png)

jokin
14th March 2008, 15:30
I have no idea sorry.

jokin
14th March 2008, 15:32
Does anyone know how to close a menu when I press down on arrow ref. I have the button below set a default activated button with a navigation command on the default activated set to change Page Entried but I have to click the button for it to change pages.

Any ideas?

Nevermind.

Thanks to DieHard for updating his experience in the other thread.

You have to change the <AutoActionFlag> from

<AutoActionFlag>0</AutoActionFlag> to <AutoActionFlag>128</AutoActionFlag> in your project XML file.

If anyone knows a way to do it without editing the XML please let us know.

Thank you.

B4tm4n
14th March 2008, 15:34
I have no idea sorry.

Thanks anyway.
Hoping for some screenshots of your other Scenarist tutorial. :)

DieHard
14th March 2008, 18:46
What you need to do is click on the button in the DataTree to make sure it is selected then right-click and within the pop-up menu select the 'Edit' action. That will open up a small window that shows the icons for the button (which you can change if you want) and at the top it will also have a radio button for 'Auto Action'. Selecting that will make the button auto-activate.

jokin
15th March 2008, 00:36
What you need to do is click on the button in the DataTree to make sure it is selected then right-click and within the pop-up menu select the 'Edit' action. That will open up a small window that shows the icons for the button (which you can change if you want) and at the top it will also have a radio button for 'Auto Action'. Selecting that will make the button auto-activate.

Awesome.

Thank you.

JMG1
22nd March 2008, 00:17
Hello, I am sorry for my English, I translated with google.

I do not understand, I gave him a thousand laps and whenever I get the same thing that B4tm4n. "Saving palette failed".

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9485/picture1cm2.png


Please someone I could send a template complete with images to see where the fault?.

Thank you and apologize for the language.

B4tm4n
22nd March 2008, 14:43
I think I found what the problem was with not saving the pallette.
I just did a full re-format and re-install of XP and thought I'd install an older version of Photoshop, I had been using CS3 (photoshop 10) with all the updates applied.
I got my old copy of CS (photoshop 8) and installed that and guess what I can use Scenarist Designer properly.
Now I don't know if this was the version of photoshop or the reformat that fixed the problem, but its working anyway.

Cheers for all your help Jokin.

@JMG1 heres a working template (http://rapidshare.com/files/101476976/MainMenu.psd.html) you were asking about.

DieHard
22nd March 2008, 15:38
It isn't the version of Photoshop because I'm using Photoshop CS3 Enhanced and it works fine. Most likely it was an improper install of the Scenarist Designer plug-in or something.

JMG1
26th March 2008, 01:10
Hello again.

Thanks to the two. B4tm4n has served me greatly assist the psd. After many attempts have solved the problem of error Scenarist Designer working on Windows Vista. I followed the videotutorial of Jokin, "Scenarist HDMV / BDA Menus" and has left everything to perfection. Now we have to understand all that information and other tutorials we expect somebody in this fantastic program that is scenarist.

Thanks again.

EiGuscheMa
2nd May 2008, 12:01
When ever I try to export the images I get a can't save pallette error.

I had the same problem until I discovered that
"SonicXalanPlugin.dll" has to be in the photoshop root-directory for the palette functions to work.

If you have more than one version of photoshop installed it is not sufficient to move just the designer - .8be into the plugin directory. You must copy that dll too.

Hope this helps.

B4tm4n
2nd May 2008, 13:00
I had the same problem until I discovered that
"SonicXalanPlugin.dll" has to be in the photoshop root-directory for the palette functions to work.

If you have more than one version of photoshop installed it is not sufficient to move just the designer - .8be into the plugin directory. You must copy that dll too.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tip, but I sorted out the problem with a re-intsall awhile back.

Cheers.

tizank tha bizank
30th June 2008, 23:05
I’m trying to export my menu into Designer, and it is giving me this error : “Non-Display set group/layer in IG. [Path: /IG:Popup}

The layer that is causing this error is my background Image, which is named ” BG: background ”
If i delete this layer, it exports into Designer fine. obviously, i do want the BG image under the buttons, so i was wondering how to fix this. Thanks.

jay111
26th February 2011, 04:52
thank you so much for this post jokin!
i've only done dvd editing through Nero Vision Express, so after doing the video/audio edit, Nero did the rest. (menus etc) Bluray is new to me. i now have a 7.1 dts sound sytem and would like to redo all of my sixties stereo vids in bluray 7.1 dts surround sound. i have the reykrooner tutorials and a lot more from Doom9 so i think i'll get over the line once i can start.
i've downloaded your video tutorial and also the template.
3 dumb questions!
1- i have the template in Photoshop, could i add my own background?

2- could i add a button to this template?

3- could i add text(play) ?
if so, could someone give a step by step on the above please.
once i get over this part, i believe i can follow the tutorials at hand to do the rest.
Just looking at the video tutorial by jokin, it might be easier going down that path.
could anyone give me some help with the 3 folders in the editor window-basic_bg Play movie and the Chapters folder.
where are they? do i have to create these folders?

kind regards
jay111
:thanks: